Method and apparatuses for interactive ordering of dental aligners

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for manufacturing a series of dental aligners. These methods generally include coordination of a dental aligner laboratory coordinating early in the pre-approval process for financing the dental aligner series, a third party financing service, and/or a dental practitioner (e.g., dentist, orthodontist, etc.).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/533,625, filed on Jul. 17, 2017, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specificationare herein incorporated by reference in their entirety to the sameextent as if each individual publication or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Orthodontic treatments may include the use of a series of dentalaligners for treating, and in particular for aligning, a patient'steeth. Typical treatments with dental aligners require a series ofdental aligners that are sequentially worn. Such aligners have numerousadvantages compared to more traditional braces formed by wires andbrackets, including ease of use, effectiveness, and aesthetics.

One common barrier for all orthodontic treatment is the cost, and thecurrent manner in which such treatments may be financed. Often, dentalpractitioners, such as orthodontists, dentists, etc. must providefinancing plans at their own expense and risk, particularly with respectto aligners. Larger financing entities and services that could providepatient's loans for such treatments may place additional burdens on thedental practitioner, including financial disincentives.

Thus, the current methods for financing orthodontic treatments such asaligners may place an undue burden on dental practitioners, particularlythose having smaller practices and those serving less affluentcommunities. This may result in a disproportionate bias for providingless expensive, and often less effective, treatments. Further, requiringthe dental practitioner to shoulder the burden of either self-financingor acting as the primary interface with third party financingorganizations is inefficient, particularly in respect to dentalaligners, in which the dental aligner laboratory, which actually designsand manufactures the aligners at the instruction of the dentalpractitioner.

Described herein are methods and apparatuses that may address theseissues.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates broadly to methods of manufacturing aseries of dental aligners for a patient. These methods also includesmethods of preparing to manufacture a series of dental aligners, andmethods of financing dental aligners.

In general, these methods, and apparatuses (e.g., systems and devices,including software, hardware and firmware that may perform any of themethods described herein) may operate between a dental alignerlaboratory (“lab”), a patient (e.g., a “putative patient” preparing for,or considering, treatment using a series of aligners), one or moredental practitioners (e.g., dentists, orthodontists, dental technicians,etc.), and a third-party financing service (including a servicemaintained by financial server that may automatically approve and/orservice a patient loan). A database (e.g., a database of putativepatient loan information) may be maintained by the third party financingservice. The dental aligner laboratory may have a first level of access(e.g., “master” access) to this database, while the one or more dentalpractitioners may be have a second level of access (e.g., “client”access, e.g., as clients of the dental aligner laboratory). Thisconfiguration may allow the dental aligner laboratory to streamlinepatient care including the manufacture of the series of aligners.

In the methods and apparatuses described herein, the dental alignerlaboratory (manufacturer) may monitor the database of the third partyfinancing service, allowing immediate feedback on patient status andorders. This permits the more efficient manufacture and distribution ofaligners than was previously possible. By modifying the financialrelationship between the consumer (putative patient), medical devicemanufacturer (dental aligner laboratory), and the healthcare provider(dental practitioner), the dental practitioner does not receive invoicesfrom the manufacturer. Instead, the provider may receive revenue at thetime that treatment is provided to the patient, e.g., when providingaligners that have already been manufactured to fit the patient asspecified by the dental practitioner. This may reduce or eliminatesubstantial financial barriers and may also enhance the process ofmanufacturing and delivering a series of aligner to individual patients.

For example, a putative patient may finance treatment with a series ofaligners using a third party, but controlled and facilitated through thedental aligner laboratory instead of the provider. Thus, the dentalaligner laboratory may coordinate the financing in conjunction with thepreparation for treatment. This both frees up the dental practitioner,but may also be particularly advantageous when preparing for treatmentwith a series of dental aligners, as such treatment is oftenfront-loaded, in that is there is an initial design and manufacturingperiod before treatment may begin. The methods described herein mayallow the dental aligner laboratory, to prepare for such treatmentsearlier in the process than in currently possible.

At the point of treatment, the putative patient's treatment costs may befunded at least in part through a consumer credit loan provided by athird party. The methods and apparatuses described herein also allow theprovider to be paid for services rendered at the time the dentalaligners are provided to the patient.

As will be described more fully below, upon the funding of a consumercredit loan by the third party financing service, the funds may bedivided between the dental aligner laboratory (manufacturer) and theprovider. For example; the laboratory fees, less any discounts providedto the dental practitioner/patient may be paid in parallel with thepayments to the dental practitioner. These fee payments may be remitted(e.g., electronically by ACH) to the dental aligner laboratory and tothe dental practitioner delivering the services to the patient. Thesemethods and apparatuses for performing them may therefore remove orgreatly reduce financial barriers that otherwise limit the dentalpractitioner from using dental aligners to benefit patients due toupfront costs and the burden of self-financing or coordinatingfinancing. From the perspective of the dental practitioner, the methodsdescribed herein may remove these costs; rather than receiving invoicesfrom the dental aligner laboratory, they may instead receive payments,as the dental aligner laboratory coordinates these payments. At the sametime, these methods may allow the dental aligner laboratory(manufacturer) to streamline production and processing of patientorders, which may in turn reduce costs.

Thus, described herein are methods of manufacturing a series ofaligners. These methods may include: receiving, from a putative patient,a patient information and a request for financing of a series of dentalaligners; pre-approving the putative patient for a maximum financedamount and entering the patient information, a preapproval status, andthe maximum financed amount into a database; transmitting an alert to adental aligner laboratory when the putative patient is pre-approved sothat the dental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacture alignersfor the putative patient; receiving a preapproval status inquiry from adental practitioner on behalf of the putative patient, and transmittingthe preapproval status and maximum financed amount from the database tothe dental practitioner; receiving a treatment cost from the dentalpractitioner for treating the putative patient and including it in thedatabase; transmitting, to the dental aligner laboratory, an alert whenthe treatment cost is received along with information identifying thedental practitioner; receiving, from the dental aligner laboratory, alaboratory cost; receiving, from the putative patient, acceptance of anactual financed amount and updating the database to indicate funding ofthe actual financed amount; transmitting an alert to a dental alignerlaboratory that the database has been updated to indicate funding of theactual financed amount so that the dental aligner laboratory maymanufacture the series of aligners; and paying, upon receivingnotification from the dental aligner laboratory that the series ofdental aligners has been sent, a first portion of the actual financedamount to the dental aligner laboratory and a second portion (in someimplementations, a remainder) of the actual financed amount to thedental practitioner.

This method may be performed, for example, by a third party financingservice and may be partially or completely automated. Thus, thesemethods may be performed by a financing server including one or moreprocessor configured to execute these steps, and/or control andcoordinate the database (e.g., the database of putative loaninformation). Thus, in any of these methods, receiving the patientinformation and request for financing, the treatment cost, thelaboratory cost, and the acceptance of the actual financed amount mayinclude receiving in a remote processor.

The putative patient may be presented with loan information and/ordental information (including payment plans) on a handheld device. Forexample, any of these methods may include presenting to the putativepatient a user interface on the putative patient's handheld mobiledevice (e.g., phone, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, etc.) that isconfigured to receive the patient information and a request forfinancing of a series of dental aligners, wherein the user interfacecommunicates with a remote processor.

Receiving the patient information may include receiving one or more of:a patient identifying code identifying the putative patient, theputative patient's name, the putative patient's address, the putativepatient's age. In general, patient information may include informationsufficient to complete a check of the putative patient's credit. Patientdental information may include information (e.g., images, scans, dentalrecords, etc.) specific to the patient's oral cavity, including teeth,etc. Patient dental information may be a subset of patient information.

Any of these methods may also include adjusting the maximum financedamount at the request of the dental aligner laboratory, wherein thedental aligner laboratory calculates a treatment risk specific to theputative patient based on one or more of a scan of the putativepatient's teeth and the patient information. The treatment risk mayalternatively or additionally be based on an estimated compliance score.For example, based on a patient's age and/or gender, a score regardingcompliance may be determined. Patient's having a higher compliance score(e.g., treatment or dental treatment compliance) may therefore be morelikely to successfully complete the treatment.

Any of these methods may also be configured to provide master access tothe database to the dental aligner laboratory; one or more dentalpractitioners may be given client access to the database. Typically,master access may control the client access and may provide greateraccess and the ability to search, edit and monitor the database. Clientaccess may be more limited, e.g., allowing patient-specific queries andaccess.

Transmitting the alert (e.g., notification, etc.) to the dental alignerlaboratory when the putative patient is pre-approved may includetransmitting the alert to the dental aligner laboratory so that dentalaligner laboratory may prepare to manufacture aligners for the putativepatient by preparing to receive dental information specific to theputative patient from the putative patient and/or the putative patient'sdental practitioner. In general, preparing to manufacture aligners forthe putative patient may include monitoring the patient record in thedatabase, contact the putative patient (e.g., requesting additionalinformation from the putative patient, providing additional informationon the treatment to the putative patient, etc.). For example, preparingto manufacture aligners for the putative patient may include requestingdental information about the putative patient from the patient directlyand/or from the dental practitioner or other source. In some variations,the requested dental information may include one or more of: an image ofthe putative patient's teeth, a digital scan of the putative patient'steeth, and a copy of the putative patient's dental record. Preparing tomanufacture aligners for the putative patient may include referring theputative patient to a dental practitioner.

In general, the methods described herein may include receiving thelaboratory cost. This may include receiving laboratory costs (e.g., fromthe dental aligner laboratory) based on the identity of the dentalpractitioner and/or based on dental information about the putativepatient. For example, the dental aligner laboratory may determine thelaboratory costs based on the treatment plan specific to the putativepatient, and/or based on the identity of the dental practitioner. Thedental aligner laboratory may provide one or more discounts on theseries of aligners based on the identity of the patient and/orpromotions for the putative patient and/or dental practitioner.

As mentioned, a user interface for the consumer (putative patient) mayinclude a mobile application software that communicates with the thirdparty financing and/or the dental aligner laboratory through theputative patient's electronics device. For example, any of these methodsmay also include providing, in a user interface on the putativepatient's mobile device, a choice of financing options before receivingacceptance of the actual financed amount.

A method of manufacturing a series of aligners may include: receiving,from a putative patient, a request for financing of a series of dentalaligners in a remote processor having a database to which a dentalaligner laboratory has master access and further to which a dentalpractitioner has client access, wherein the request for financingincludes patient information specific to the putative patient;pre-approving the putative patient for a maximum financed amount andentering the patient information, a preapproval status, and the maximumfinanced amount into the database; transmitting an alert to the dentalaligner laboratory when the putative patient is pre-approved so thatdental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacture aligners for theputative patient; receiving a preapproval status inquiry from the dentalpractitioner on behalf of the putative patient, and transmitting thepreapproval status and maximum financed amount from the database to thedental practitioner; receiving a treatment cost for treating theputative patient and including it in the database; receiving alaboratory cost for treating the putative patient; receiving, from theputative patient, acceptance of an actual financed amount and updatingthe database to indicate funding of the actual financed amount;initiating manufacture of the series of dental aligners specific to theputative patient by transmitting an alert to a dental aligner laboratorythat the actual financed amount has been funded; paying, followingreceipt of notification that the series of dental aligners has beencompleted and sent, a first portion of the actual financed amount to thedental aligner laboratory and a second portion (e.g., a remainder) ofthe actual financed amount to the dental practitioner.

A method of manufacturing a series of aligners may include: receiving,from a putative patient, a request for financing of a series of dentalaligners in a remote processor having a database to which a dentalaligner laboratory has master access and further to which a dentalpractitioner has client access, wherein the request for financingincludes patient information specific to the putative patient;pre-approving the putative patient for a maximum financed amount andentering the patient information, a preapproval status, and the maximumfinanced amount into the database; receiving a preapproval statusinquiry from the dental practitioner on behalf of the putative patient,and transmitting the preapproval status and maximum financed amount fromthe database to the dental practitioner; receiving a treatment cost fortreating the putative patient and including it in the database;receiving a laboratory cost for treating the putative patient;receiving, from the putative patient, acceptance of an actual financedamount and updating the database to indicate funding of the actualfinanced amount; initiating manufacture of the series of dental alignersspecific to the putative patient by transmitting an alert to a dentalaligner laboratory that the actual financed amount has been funded;paying, following receipt of notification that the series of dentalaligners has been completed and sent, a first portion of the actualfinanced amount to the dental aligner laboratory and a second portion(e.g., a remainder) of the actual financed amount to the dentalpractitioner.

Also described herein are methods of manufacturing a series of dentalaligners (or methods of preparing to manufacture a series of dentalaligners) that are performed primarily or exclusively by the dentalaligner laboratory in conjunction with the third party financing service(e.g., automated financial server), putative patient and one or more(e.g., a plurality of) dental practitioners.

For example, a method of manufacturing a series of dental aligners mayinclude: providing master access to a database of putative patient loaninformation to a dental aligner laboratory; receiving, by the dentalaligner laboratory, a notification from a remote financing server that aputative patient has requested or received pre-approval of a maximumfinanced amount for a dental aligner treatment and preparing tomanufacture the series of aligners for the putative patient uponreceiving the notification; receiving, by the dental aligner laboratory,an alert when the remote financing server receives a treatment cost froma dental practitioner for the putative patient; calculating a laboratorycost for manufacturing the series of aligners for the putative patientand transmitting the laboratory cost to the remote financing server;receiving an alert that the remote financial server has funded an actualfinanced amount for the putative patient and thereafter initiatingmanufacture of the series of dental aligners specific to the putativepatient; and transmitting instructions to the remote financial server topay the treatment cost to the dental practitioner and to pay thelaboratory cost to the dental aligner laboratory after the series ofdental aligners has been completed and sent.

As mentioned, preparing to manufacture the series of aligners for theputative patient may comprise preparing to receive dental informationspecific to the putative patient from the putative patient and/or theputative patient's dental practitioner, and/or requesting dentalinformation about the putative patient (e.g., requesting one or more of:an image of the putative patient's teeth, a digital scan of the putativepatient's teeth, and a copy of the putative patient's dental record,and/or requesting from the dental practitioner that is associated withthe putative patient in the database of putative patient loaninformation); and or referring the putative patient to a dentalpractitioner.

Receiving, by the dental aligner laboratory, an alert may comprisereceiving a request for laboratory cost. Calculating the laboratory costfor manufacturing the series of aligners for the putative patient may bebased a discount associated with the dental practitioner and/or theputative patient's dental information.

Any of these methods may also include transmitting, to the remotefinancing server from the dental aligner laboratory, an adjusted maximumfinanced amount based a treatment risk for the putative patient. Forexample, any of these methods may include adjusting the maximum financedamount based on a treatment risk determined using patient dentalinformation comprising one or more of: an image of the putativepatient's teeth, a digital scan of the putative patient's teeth.

A method of manufacturing a series of dental aligners may include:providing master access to a database of putative patient loaninformation to a dental aligner laboratory; monitoring, by the dentalaligner laboratory, a database (e.g., database of putative patient loaninformation) maintained by a remote financing server from which aputative patient has requested or received pre-approval of a maximumfinanced amount for a dental aligner treatment; receiving, by the dentalaligner laboratory, an alert when the remote financing server receives atreatment cost from a dental practitioner for the putative patient;calculating a laboratory cost for manufacturing the series of alignersfor the putative patient and transmitting the laboratory cost to theremote financing server; receiving an alert that the remote financialserver has funded an actual financed amount for the putative patient andthereafter initiating manufacture of the series of dental alignersspecific to the putative patient; and transmitting instructions to theremote financial server to pay the treatment cost to the dentalpractitioner and to pay the laboratory cost to the dental alignerlaboratory after the series of dental aligners has been completed andsent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe claims that follow. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to thefollowing detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments,in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1A illustrates the possible interactions between a dental alignerlaboratory, a putative patient, a third party financing service, and oneor more dental practitioners.

FIG. 1B is a first part of a flow diagram illustrating a method offabricating a series of aligners.

FIG. 1C is the second part of the diagram of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1D is a flow diagram similar to that shown in FIGS. 1B-1C includingone or more additional steps.

FIG. 2A illustrates one example of a method or fabricating a series ofaligners from the perspective of the third party financing service.

FIG. 2B illustrates and example of a method of fabricating a series ofaligners from the perspective of a dental aligner laboratory(manufacturer).

FIGS. 3A1-3E illustrate an exemplary patient user interface that may beused (e.g., as part of a mobile application or other software) duringthe pre-approval portion of the methods of fabricating a series ofaligners as described herein.

FIGS. 4A-4I illustrate an exemplary patient user interface that may beused to select and approve a treatment loan as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrate an exemplary user interface that may be used to selectand approve a treatment loan as described herein.

FIG. 6 is an example of a user interface for monitoring an ApprovalDatabase (e.g., monitoring by Master (e.g., Lab) and/or Client (e.g.,Dental Physician).

FIG. 7 is an example of a user interface for monitoring funding of loanfrom Approval Database by Master (e.g., Lab).

FIG. 8 is an example of a user interface for a client (e.g., DentalPhysician) of Master account (e.g., Lab).

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the Third Party transmission (e.g., ACH)payment to Dental Professional and Lab following sending of alignerseries to Dental Professional.

FIG. 10 is an alternative diagram illustrating a method of fabricating aseries of aligners.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates an example of a process flow forconsumer sales including financing.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an example of a process flow forconsumer sales including financing using online scheduling.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show example of user interfaces for a transfer processin a third party loan application.

FIG. 14 is an example of an in-office consumer financing process.

FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C show a process flow diagram illustrating oneexample of a retail store loan consumer financing process example. Thechart shown in FIG. 15A is continued onto FIGS. 15B and 15C.

FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C show a process flow diagram illustrating oneexample of a concierge consumer financing process. The chart shown inFIG. 16A is continued onto FIGS. 16B and 16C.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a coordinated aligner payment alertenvironment, in accordance with some implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The methods and apparatuses described herein generally allow a dentalaligner laboratory (e.g., a dental aligner laboratory associated with adental aligner manufacturer) 160 to monitor a database of the thirdparty financing service 180, allowing immediate feedback on patient(putative patient 155) status and orders. FIG. 1 gives an overview ofpossible relationships between the dental aligner laboratory 160,putative patient 155, dental practitioner(s) 170, 170′, and third partyfinancing service 180.

The dental aligner manufacturer may coordinate the process manufacturinga series of aligners on behalf of a putative patient including theimportant pre-manufacturing steps of financing and pre-screening ofputative patients before a therapy is started. Therapy typically startswhen the aligners are provided to the putative patient, e.g., by thedental practitioner. Described herein are methods in which the dentalaligner laboratory (rather than the dental practitioner and/or the thirdparty financing service) coordinates the financing of the treatment.This may permit the more efficient manufacture and distribution ofaligners than was previously possible. This may reduce or eliminatesubstantial financial barriers and may also enhance the process ofmanufacturing and delivering a series of aligner to individual patients.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a coordinated aligner payment alertenvironment 1700, in accordance with some implementations. Thecoordinated aligner payment alert environment 1700 may include acomputer-readable medium 1702, a putative patient system 1710, a dentalaligner manufacturing system 1720 (alternatively referred to herein as alaboratory system), aligner finance system(s) 1730, a dentalpractitioner system 1740, and an automated milestone management system1760. One or more of the elements of the coordinated aligner paymentalert environment 1700 may be coupled to one another or to modules notexplicitly shown in FIG. 17. As an example, the elements of thecoordinated aligner payment alert environment 1700 may be coupled to oneanother through the computer-readable medium 1702.

As further discussed herein, the elements of the coordinated alignerpayment alert environment 1700 may operate to provide distributed,coordinated, and/or real-time alert about the status of paymentmilestone, such as a financing and/or payment milestone for one or moreorthodontic aligners. As noted herein, the elements of the coordinatedaligner payment alert environment 1700 may further operate to routepayment from the aligner finance system(s) 1730 and to split a paymentfor orthodontic treatment between the dental aligner manufacturingsystem 1720 and the dental practitioner system 1740. The componentsherein operate in an unconventional manner to achieve variousimprovements in computer functionality, such as the provision ofdistributed, coordinated, and/or real-time alert about the status ofpayment milestone without any human intervention. The automated agentsimplemented by the elements of the coordinated aligner payment alertenvironment 1700 may work together in a distributed manner to enhancethe provisioning of data in a distributed fashion and therefore mayfacilitate solving significant technical problems related to managingmassive payment data record flows related to orthodontic treatmentsand/or aligners.

The computer-readable medium 1702 and other computer readable mediadiscussed in this paper are intended to represent a variety ofpotentially applicable technologies. For example, the computer-readablemedium 1702 can be used to form a network or part of a network. Wheretwo components are co-located on a device, the computer-readable medium1702 can include a bus or other data conduit or plane. Where a firstcomponent is co-located on one device and a second component is locatedon a different device, the computer-readable medium 1702 can include awireless or wired back-end network or LAN. The computer-readable medium1702 can also encompass a relevant portion of a WAN or other network, ifapplicable. As noted herein, the computer-readable medium 1702 may beconfigured to couple one or more of the elements of the coordinatedaligner payment alert environment 1700 to one another. In this example,the computer-readable medium 1702 couples the putative patient system1710, the dental aligner manufacturing system 1720 (alternativelyreferred to herein as a laboratory system), the aligner financesystem(s) 1730, the dental practitioner system 1740, and the automatedmilestone management system 1760 to one another.

The putative patient system 1710 may include a digital device configuredto interface with a putative patient and/or a patient. The putativepatient may be a person seeking orthodontic treatment of an orthodonticcondition, e.g., through the use of orthodontic aligners. The putativepatient system 1710 may include a patient user interface (UI) engine1712. The patient UI engine 1712 may be configured to receive user inputand/or display results of user input, treatment data, and/or financialdata to a putative patient.

As used herein, any “engine” may include one or more processors or aportion thereof. A portion of one or more processors can include someportion of hardware less than all of the hardware comprising any givenone or more processors, such as a subset of registers, the portion ofthe processor dedicated to one or more threads of a multi-threadedprocessor, a time slice during which the processor is wholly orpartially dedicated to carrying out part of the engine's functionality,or the like. As such, a first engine and a second engine can have one ormore dedicated processors or a first engine and a second engine canshare one or more processors with one another or other engines.Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, anengine can be centralized or its functionality distributed. An enginecan include hardware, firmware, or software embodied in acomputer-readable medium for execution by the processor. The processortransforms data into new data using implemented data structures andmethods, such as is described with reference to the figures herein.

The engines described herein, or the engines through which the systemsand devices described herein can be implemented, can be cloud-basedengines. As used herein, a cloud-based engine is an engine that can runapplications and/or functionalities using a cloud-based computingsystem. All or portions of the applications and/or functionalities canbe distributed across multiple computing devices, and need not berestricted to only one computing device. In some embodiments, thecloud-based engines can execute functionalities and/or modules that endusers access through a web browser or container application withouthaving the functionalities and/or modules installed locally on theend-users' computing devices.

As used herein, “datastores” may include repositories having anyapplicable organization of data, including tables, comma-separatedvalues (CSV) files, traditional databases (e.g., SQL), or otherapplicable known or convenient organizational formats. Datastores can beimplemented, for example, as software embodied in a physicalcomputer-readable medium on a specific-purpose machine, in firmware, inhardware, in a combination thereof, or in an applicable known orconvenient device or system. Datastore-associated components, such asdatabase interfaces, can be considered “part of” a datastore, part ofsome other system component, or a combination thereof, though thephysical location and other characteristics of datastore-associatedcomponents is not critical for an understanding of the techniquesdescribed herein.

Datastores can include data structures. As used herein, a data structureis associated with a particular way of storing and organizing data in acomputer so that it can be used efficiently within a given context. Datastructures are generally based on the ability of a computer to fetch andstore data at any place in its memory, specified by an address, a bitstring that can be itself stored in memory and manipulated by theprogram. Thus, some data structures are based on computing the addressesof data items with arithmetic operations; while other data structuresare based on storing addresses of data items within the structureitself. Many data structures use both principles, sometimes combined innon-trivial ways. The implementation of a data structure usually entailswriting a set of procedures that create and manipulate instances of thatstructure. The datastores, described herein, can be cloud-baseddatastores. A cloud-based datastore is a datastore that is compatiblewith cloud-based computing systems and engines.

The dental aligner manufacturing system 1720 may include a digitaldevice configured to facilitate design and/or manufacture of orthodonticaligners. The dental aligner manufacturing system 1720 may includealigner manufacture engine(s) 1722, aligner manufacture managementengine(s) 1724, and aligner payment management engine(s) 1726. One ormore elements of the dental aligner manufacturing system 1720 may becoupled to one another or to modules not explicitly shown. The dentalaligner manufacturing system 1720 may be managed and/or associated withan entity that makes orthodontic aligners.

The aligner manufacture trigger engine(s) 1722 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to manage aligner manufacture triggers. An“aligner manufacture trigger,” as used herein, may include computerprogram instructions and/or code configured to trigger instructions tomanage aligner manufacturing parameters. Aligner manufacture triggersmay be based on or coordinated with achievement of a payment milestone.A “payment milestone,” as used herein, may include an event related tofulfillment of a condition to pay for aligners. Examples of paymentmilestones include achievement of pre-approval (e.g., pre-qualificationor qualification for a loan for aligners) by a customer, satisfaction ofan obligation to pay a portion of a debt related to aligners (e.g.,payment of a down payment related to a loan for aligners), etc. As notedherein, payment milestones may be provided in the form of notificationtriggers from the automated milestone management system 1760.

Coordination of aligner manufacturing may provide a substantialimprovement in reducing the time to deliver the aligners as well as ingenerating, validating and confirming individual treatment plans,particularly as the number of patients to be treated increases.Fabrication or manufacture of aligners may include a variety of steps,including iteration between the dental practitioner (e.g., dentist,orthodontist, etc.) and the laboratory. Prior to fabrication of thealigner(s) by the laboratory and delivery of the sequence of aligner toan individual patient by the dental practitioner and/or laboratory, thedental practitioner must customize the treatment plan to each individualpatient. This customization must take into account both the skill anddesires of the dental practitioner and the constraints of themanufacturing process; thus, each treatment plan may represent asubstantial amount of up-front customization to each individual patientand coordination between the dental practitioner and the laboratory.However, the dental practitioner and laboratory are usually economicallyindependent agents; neither the dental practitioner nor the laboratorymay desire to shoulder the burden of undertaking the aligner manufactureprocess (including treatment planning, validation, finalization andfabrication of a series of aligner), particularly at early stages,during which the risk of default is highest. The methods and systems,including the coordinated aligner payment alert environment 1700,described herein provide a solution to the highly technical problem ofmanufacturing dental aligners by distributing the financial andfabrication portions of the fabrication process more equitably betweenthe dental practitioner and laboratory.

The aligner manufacture management engine 1724 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to implement instructions to manufacturealigners. The aligner manufacture management engine 1724 may beconfigured to instruct a 3D printer to form an aligner mold and/or todirectly fabricate aligners. The aligner manufacture management engine1724 may be configured to instruct a thermoforming system to thermoformaligners over an aligner mold. In some implementations, the alignermanufacture management engine 1724 may be configured to receiveinstructions from the aligner manufacture trigger engine(s) 1722. As anexample, the aligner manufacture management engine 1724 may beconfigured to receive aligner manufacture triggers, such as those basedon achievement of a payment milestone, from the aligner manufacturetrigger engine(s) 1722. The aligner manufacture management engine 1724may further be configured to base instructions to fabricate alignersand/or aligner molds based on aligner manufacture triggers.

The aligner payment management engine(s) 1726 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to monitor a payment status of aligners. Thealigner payment management engine(s) 1726 may be configured to identifywhether or not an aligner manufacturer has been paid (and/or otherwisecontractually satisfied) for aligners. The aligner payment managementengine(s) 1726 may be configured to receive at least a portion ofpayment for aligners from, e.g., the aligner finance system(s) 1730and/or the automated milestone management system 1760. In someimplementations, the notification triggers from the automated milestonemanagement system 1760 may include instructions to transfer payment foraligners from the aligner finance system(s) 1730.

The aligner finance system(s) 1730 may include a digital deviceconfigured to manage financing of aligners. The aligner financesystem(s) 1730 may be maintained by financial entities, such as banks orloan providers. In some implementations, the aligner finance system(s)1730 are maintained by “third-parties,” e.g., entities other than acustomer, a dental practitioner, and an aligner manufacturer. As aresult, the aligner finance system(s) 1730 may incorporate one or moreinterfaces (not shown) that facilitate gathering of a person's financialdata. The aligner finance system(s) 1730 may further comprise one ormore engines and/or datastores that manage a putative patient'sfinancial arrangements for obtaining aligners, e.g., loans for aligners.

The dental practitioner system(s) 1740 may include a digital deviceconfigured to instruct a dental practitioner to implement orthodonticaligner treatment. The dental practitioner system(s) 1740 may includetreatment trigger engine(s) 1742, treatment management engine(s) 1744,milestone interface engine(s) 1746, a treatment data datastore 1748, andtreatment payment management engine(s) 1750. One or more of the elementsof the dental practitioner system 1740 may be coupled to one another orto components not explicitly shown. The dental practitioner system(s)1740 may be managed and/or associated with an entity that implementsorthodontic treatment (e.g., an orthodontist or orthodontist group).

The treatment trigger engine(s) 1742 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to identify and/or manage treatment triggers. A“treatment trigger,” as used herein, may include computer programinstructions and/or code configured to trigger instructions to provideorthodontic treatment. A treatment trigger may, but need not, be relatedto achievement of a payment milestone. A treatment trigger may berelated to attributes of orthodontic treatment (such as whether aputative patient needs/qualifies for orthodontic treatment), attributesof a putative patient, and/or other factors.

The treatment management engine(s) 1744 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to implement an orthodontic treatment plan.The treatment management engine(s) 1744 may base treatment on treatmentdata from the treatment data datastore 1748. In some implementations,orthodontic treatment plans are based on satisfaction of treatmenttriggers. As an example, in some implementations, the treatmentmanagement engine(s) 1744 bases treatment plans on satisfaction ofpayment milestones, as further discussed herein.

The milestone interface engine(s) 1746 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to interface with the automated milestonemanagement system 1760. The milestone interface engine(s) 1746 mayimplement Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that receivenotification triggers from the automated milestone management system1760. As noted further herein, the notification triggers may signifyachievement of payment milestones, e.g., achievement of pre-approval(e.g., pre-qualification or qualification for a loan for aligners) by acustomer, satisfaction of an obligation to pay a portion of a debtrelated to aligners (e.g., payment of a down payment related to a loanfor aligners), etc.

The treatment payment management engine(s) 1750 may implement one ormore automated agents configured to monitor a payment status of anorthodontic treatment plan. The treatment payment management engine(s)1750 may be configured to identify whether or not an orthodontictreatment provider has been paid (and/or otherwise contractuallysatisfied) for an orthodontic treatment plan (e.g., one implementedusing aligners). The treatment payment management engine(s) 1750 may beconfigured to receive at least a portion of payment for aligners from,e.g., the aligner finance system(s) 1730 and/or the automated milestonemanagement system 1760. In some implementations, the notificationtriggers from the automated milestone management system 1760 may includeinstructions to transfer payment for aligners from the aligner financesystem(s) 1730.

The automated milestone management system 1760 may include a digitaldevice configured to monitor achievement of payment milestones andprovide notification triggers to the dental aligner manufacturing system1720 and/or the dental practitioner system 1740. The automated milestonemanagement system 1760 may include payment milestone engine(s) 1760,notification trigger engine(s) 1762, financial institution interfaceengine(s) 1764, manufacturer interface engine(s) 1766, practitionerinterface engine(s) 1768, and a payment milestone data datastore 1770.One or more of the elements of the automated milestone management system1760 may be coupled to one another or to components not explicitlyshown.

The payment milestone engine(s) 1760 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to determine whether or not a putative patientachieved a payment milestone. In some implementations, the paymentmilestone engine(s) 1760 evaluates financial data gathered from thealigner finance system(s) 1730 to see if a putative patient achieved oneor more specified payment milestones. The payment milestone engine(s)1760 may evaluate the satisfaction of various payment milestoneconditions using payment data stored in the payment milestone datadatastore 1770. In some implementations, the payment milestone engine(s)1760 implement automated rules to split payments between the dentalaligner manufacturing system 1720 and the dental practitioner system1740. The specific amounts of a split may be based on attributes (e.g.,costs or estimated market value(s)) of a treatment plan, of alignermanufacturer, etc.

The notification trigger engine(s) 1762 may implement one or moreautomated agents configured to provide notification triggers. Anotification trigger,” as used herein, may include computer programinstructions and/or code configured to trigger instructions to indicateachievement of a payment milestone. In some implementations, thenotification triggers are implemented as real-time electronic alerts tovarious systems, such as the dental aligner manufacturing system 1720and/or the dental practitioner system 1740. The notification triggerengine(s) 1762 may also provide notification triggers to, e.g., theputative patient system 1710. The real-time electronic alerts maycomprise emails, in-application notifications, text (SMS) or othernotifications, operating system (OS) alerts, etc. The notificationtriggers may provide a distributed and/or coordinated framework tocommunicate the status of payment milestones to a dental alignermanufacturer and a dental practitioner. In various implementations, thenotification triggers operate to automatically and without humanintervention split payment for aligners between a dental alignermanufacturer and a dental practitioner. As an example, the notificationtriggers may operate to automatically route electronic payments from thealigner finance system(s) 1730 to the dental aligner manufacturingsystem 1720 and the dental practitioner system(s) 1740. The amounts of aspecific payment split may depend on various rules maintained by thepayment milestone engine(s) 1760.

The financial institution interface engine(s) 1764 may implement one ormore automated agents configured to interface with the aligner financesystem(s) 1730. The manufacturer interface engine(s) 1766 may implementone or more automated agents configured to interface with the dentalaligner manufacturing system 1720. The practitioner interface engine(s)1768 may implement one or more automated agents configured to interfacewith the dental practitioner system 1740.

FIGS. 1B and 1C (shown across two pages) generally includes three ormore periods. The first period is a pre-approval period. During thisperiod, a patient (referred to herein as a “putative patient”) that isinterested in receiving treatment by a series of aligners expressesinterest in financing the treatment 101. Prior to the methods andapparatuses described herein, this would likely involve the use of athird party financing service that could provide a loan which would becoordinated by the dental practitioner (e.g., dentist), and/or thedental practitioner may themselves provide financing. Instead, as shownin FIGS. 1B and 1C, the putative patient may be referred to a thirdparty (third party financing service) to request preapproval. Thisprocess may be coordinated by the use of software, firmware and/orhardware, including software such as application software that isconfigured to run on a putative patient's own mobile device (e.g.,smartphone). Thus, the putative patient may use a phone, tablet or othercomputer, including an app for the computing device (e.g., a mobile userinterface) to request pre-approval for a phone, and provide the thirdparty with patient identifying information 103. This may trigger thethird party financial server either automatically or manually, orsemi-automatically, to open a record of the patient (or update anexisting record) in a database (e.g., a database of putative patientloan information, which may also be referred to as an approval database)105.

For example, FIGS. 3A1-3D illustrate an example of a user interface forrequesting pre-approval for an aligner treatment, includingmanufacturing of the series of aligners. The putative patient may besent (e.g., via SMS) a message requesting that they start the creditapplication, as shown in FIG. 3E. This message may provide a link thatbegins the credit application process, as shown in FIGS. 3A1 to 3B. Theputative patient may enter their personal identifying information (name,social security number, phone number, address, date of birth/age,contact information, etc.), as shown in FIG. 3C-3D. This information maybe submitted to the third party financing service which may update thedatabase with this information, as well as the decision on thepre-approval inquiry. A notice indicating that the patient has beenpre-qualified may be sent via the same channel, shown in FIG. 3E.

Returning to FIG. 1B, the dental aligner laboratory typically has“master” access to this database, which may be maintained by the dentalaligner laboratory, or more likely by the third party financing service.The dental aligner laboratory may monitor, modify and/or receive alertsand/or updates from this database. In this case, opening or updating anentry specific to the potential user may trigger one or more alerts(e.g., notifications) to the dental aligner laboratory. Further, thethird party financing service may make a decision to pre-approve or denythe prospective patient, and, if preapproved, may determine, initiallybased on the putative patient's credit (e.g., credit score, creditcheck, etc.) a maximum pre-approved amount. The third party may thenupdate this database with approve/deny decision and approved amount, asmentioned 107.

Note that the pre-approval period may occur either before or during avisit to a dental practitioner (e.g., orthodontist, dentist, etc.). Asillustrated in FIG. 10, in some cases the putative patient may call intoan information call center (e.g. consultant) affiliated with the dentalaligner laboratory. The consultant may provide the link to the financialservices or this may be provided while visiting/consulting with a dentalpractitioner.

A pre-treatment period may then enter the pre-approval period. Thepre-treatment period may include the visit to the dental practitioner,who may examine the patient's teeth, including taking images, scans,etc. 109. This information may be provided to the dental alignerlaboratory and may include the patient identifying information. Thisinformation may also be included in (or linked to) the database. Thedental practitioner may then request preapproval information from eitherthe dental aligner laboratory or directly (as a client account of thedental aligner laboratory) from the third party financing service 111.In some cases, the dental practitioner's records for the patient may bepartially or completely reconciled (including filled in) by informationfrom the database 113. Preapproval status (e.g., preapproved of ranamount of $X dollars”) may be provided to the dental practitioner. Insome case, this information may come through the laboratory 115, or itmay alternatively come directly from the database. The dentalpractitioner may then provide treatment options (including various costoptions 117) to the putative patient. If the patient agrees to thetreatment, she or he may then select which treatment options and/or loanterms 119. Any of these methods may also include an initialdown-payment.

FIGS. 4A-4I illustrate one example of a user interface showing theselection of a finance plan (FIG. 4A), and the approval of the terms ofthe loan offered by the third party (FIGS. 4B-4D). The putative patientmay then accept the loan, as shown in FIG. 4E, and set up a repaymentplan (FIGS. 4F-4G). The loan may then be funded by the third party. FIG.5 is another example of a user interface for communicating between thethird party and the dental practitioner, allowing the dentalpractitioner to provide an estimate of the treatment cost and thereforedifferent payment plans. This information (e.g., treatment cost) may beupdated and sent to the database; receipt of the cost information fromthe dental practitioner may also trigger an alert and/or request for thelaboratory cost from the dental aligner lab. The dental aligner lab maycalculate the cost based on the presumptive treatment (e.g., based onpatient dental information) and/or based on the identity of the dentalpractitioner and/or based on any promotional or discount programs. Thiscost (the laboratory fee) may then be transmitted and stored in thedatabase.

Returning to FIG. 1C, the aligner manufacture period 122 may update thedatabase 121 and may include indicating (e.g. alerting) the dentalaligner laboratory that the Third party moved loan is in holding status,to be funded once the lab fulfills treatment order. This may allow thelaboratory (e.g., manufacturer) to prepare for processing of fabricatingthe series of aligners. For example, the dental practitioner maytransmit the formal request for a series of aligners with patientaligner information to the laboratory. The laboratory may thenmanufacture the aligner series and send it to the dental practitioner125. The lab may generate an invoice for Dental Professional andtransmits final invoice amount to Approval Database 126. Aftermanufacture and/or shipping the aligner series, the laboratoryapprove/triggers payment to physician by third party, as well asconcurrent payment to Lab by third party 127. This is illustrated inFIG. 9. The third party transmits (e.g., ACH) payment to the dentalpractitioner and Laboratory 129, and the patient gets the aligners fromthe dental practitioner and beings treatment 131.

The methods described above may be modified by removing or minimizingthe dental practitioner's role; including sending the aligners directlyto the patient.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate methods similar to those discussed above.

For example, FIG. 2A illustrates a method of manufacturing a series ofaligners that includes: receiving, from a putative patient, patientinformation and a request for financing of a series of dental aligners201; pre-approving the putative patient for a maximum financed amountand entering the patient information, a preapproval status, and themaximum financed amount into a database 203; receiving a preapprovalstatus inquiry from a dental practitioner on behalf of the putativepatient, and transmitting the preapproval status and maximum financedamount from the database to the dental practitioner 207; receiving atreatment cost from the dental practitioner for treating the putativepatient and including it in the database 209; transmitting, to thedental aligner laboratory, an alert when the treatment cost is receivedalong with information identifying the dental practitioner 211;transmitting an alert to a dental aligner laboratory when the putativepatient has their treatment details finalized by the Dental Professionalso that the dental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacturealigners for the putative patient (optional step 205); receiving, fromthe dental aligner laboratory, a laboratory cost 213; receiving, fromthe putative patient, acceptance of an actual financed amount andupdating the database to indicate funding of the actual financed amount215; in some variations, the dental aligner laboratory may receive analert that the database has been updated to indicate funding of theactual financed amount so that the dental aligner laboratory maymanufacture the series of aligners; and paying, upon receivingnotification from the dental aligner laboratory that the series ofdental aligners has been sent, a first portion of the actual financedamount to the dental aligner laboratory and a second portion (e.g., aremainder) of the actual financed amount to the dental practitioner 219.

Thus, in any of the method and system variations described herein, thedental aligner laboratory may be alerted early in the process and maytherefore make preliminary preparations for treatment, includingassisting the dental practitioner in identifying a treatment product,scheduling of treatment processing, etc. For example, the laboratory mayassist in identifying a treatment product by providing directly thepractitioner or to the database a listing and/or description of dentalaligner products (e.g., treatments using a limited or pre-defined numberof aligners or for limited time duration (8 months, one year, 1.5 years,etc.), treatments using/not using attachments to the teeth in additionto aligners, treatments focused on primarily aesthetics, etc.

For example, any of these methods may include transmitting an alert tothe dental aligner laboratory when the putative patient is pre-approvedso that the dental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacturealigners for the putative patient. Preparation may include schedulingaligner manufacturing resources, communication with the database,patient and/or dental practitioner about available treatment planoptions, opening and/or populating a local patient treatment record, orthe like.

FIG. 2B describes a method of manufacturing a series of dental alignersthat includes: providing master access to a database of putative patientloan information to a dental aligner laboratory 221; receiving, by thedental aligner laboratory, a notification from a remote financing serverthat a putative patient has requested or received pre-approval of amaximum financed amount for a dental aligner treatment and (optionally)preparing to manufacture the series of aligners for the putative patientupon receiving the notification (optional) 223; receiving, by the dentalaligner laboratory, an alert when the remote financing server receives atreatment cost from a dental practitioner for the putative patient 225;Dental Professional finalizes treatment details, triggering dentalaligner laboratory to manufacture the series of aligners for theputative patient upon receiving the notification 226; calculating alaboratory cost for manufacturing the series of aligners for theputative patient and transmitting the laboratory cost to the remotefinancing server 227; receiving an alert that the remote financialserver has funded an actual financed amount for the putative patient 229and thereafter initiating manufacture of the series of dental alignersspecific to the putative patient; and transmitting instructions to theremote financial server to pay the treatment cost to the dentalpractitioner and to pay the laboratory cost to the dental alignerlaboratory after the series of dental aligners has been completed andsent 231.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show user interfaces for communicating with thefinancial server, e.g., that may be used by the laboratory and/or dentalpractitioner to monitor the loan status and/or treatment status of oneor more patients.

As mentioned, a patient interested in aligner therapy may initialcontact the laboratory, e.g., by visiting a website or calling a call-incenter, and may receive information about financing. An email or textmessage (based on patient preference) may be sent to allow the patientto enter information. This process may be done in real-time, indicatingpre-approved or denies status. Once the patient approves of the loandocuments, the loan may be funded. In the remote server (e.g., cloud),the funded loan status may be viewed by the laboratory. The laboratorysystem may look daily at loans funded and cross-reference them againstthe pipeline report of when the aligner series ships and leaves themanufacturer. The laboratory may alert the financing server that thealigners have shipped, thereby automatically telling the loan server(software) to pay the physician and to pay laboratory.

FIG. 1D illustrates one example of a variation in which the maximum loanamount could be modified based on dental information. For example, theloan amount could be modified based on predicted treatment outcomespecific to the patient. Alternatively or additionally, the loan amountcould be modified based on the predicted patient compliance. Morecomplicated procedures could be approved for larger loan amounts, whichmay be drawn against in the future.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate examples of process flows for recruitingcustomers (e.g., financing), including both with (FIG. 12) and without(FIG. 11) an online scheduling technique. In FIG. 11, the patient aconsumer sales representative may manually book an appointment and walkthe patient through some basic information both about the loan (e.g.,explaining the significance of terms for the consumer loan and/orscheduling and aiding in securing the loan for a particular orthodonticproduct. FIG. 12 is an improvement on this manual method that includesthe use of an automated (e.g., a smartphone owned or loaned to thepatient, where the “smartphone” may be any hand-held electronic deviceincluding a processor). The smartphone application software may be usedto provide information to user (patient) about aligner providers, e.g.,physicians, etc. (including answering questions about provider practice,availability, etc.), and may aid in automatically scheduling an initialand follow-up appointments the provider, and/or may book appointment.The app/software may also act, as described above, to perform the loanapproval process. FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate examples of userinterfaces for the application software when setting up and applying fora loan and/or treatment. FIG. 13A illustrates a user interface fordisplaying information about the patient and patient loan, such asuser-identifying information (phone number, phone type, email, etc.), aswell as the requested loan amount and the maximum loan amount. FIG. 13Billustrates a user interface for finding a merchant to assign to a loan.

FIG. 14 illustrates one example of a method (shown as a process chart)for consumer financing and manufacturing of a patient orthodontictreatment including a plurality of aligners. FIGS. 15A-15C and 16A-16Cillustrate process diagrams for retail store locations consumerfinancing processes and patient concierge consumer financing.

As discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1B-1C and 1D, the process ofmanufacturing aligners may be greatly improved by integrating thealigner manufacturing process with the consumer financing in aparticular ordered manner. This may avoid the inefficiencies associatedwith waiting times, and the order of manufacturing operations. Priorsystems required the dental provider (e.g., orthodontist, dentist, etc.)to bear the burden of coordinating the patient loan and, setting up atreatment plan and ordering the aligner(s). The methods and systemsdescribed herein may address these inefficiencies, by integrating thedental laboratory in the loan process, including transmitting an alertto the dental aligner laboratory when the putative patient ispre-approved so that the dental aligner laboratory may begin to prepareto manufacture aligners for the putative patient and transmitting analert to the dental aligner laboratory when the treatment cost isreceived from the dental practitioner, along with informationidentifying the dental practitioner, and finally, transmitting an alertto the dental aligner laboratory that the database has been updated toindicate funding of the actual financed amount so that the dentalaligner laboratory may manufacture the series of aligners.

In practice, these processes may be aided by the use of both a patientprocessor (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.) near the patient that mayprovide information to the patient, including a user interface such asshown in FIGS. 3A1-3E and 4A-4I, which may communicate with a thirdparty processor (e.g., a remote processor) and may also directly orindirectly communicate with a dental practitioner (dentist,orthodontist, etc.) processing device (e.g., client processor, such as acomputer, tablet, etc.) and/or laboratory processing device (e.g.,master processor, such as a computer, tablet, etc.).

Any of the methods (including user interfaces) described herein may beimplemented as software, hardware or firmware, and may be described as anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a set ofinstructions capable of being executed by a processor (e.g., computer,tablet, smartphone, etc.), that when executed by the processor causesthe processor to control perform any of the steps, including but notlimited to: displaying, communicating with the user, analyzing,modifying parameters (including timing, frequency, intensity, etc.),determining, alerting, or the like.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” anotherfeature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or elementor intervening features and/or elements may also be present. Incontrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directlyon” another feature or element, there are no intervening features orelements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature orelement is referred to as being “connected”, “attached” or “coupled” toanother feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached orcoupled to the other feature or element or intervening features orelements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element isreferred to as being “directly connected”, “directly attached” or“directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are nointervening features or elements present. Although described or shownwith respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so describedor shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated bythose of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature thatis disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap orunderlie the adjacent feature.

Terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.For example, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may beabbreviated as “/”.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if a device in thefigures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements orfeatures. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both anorientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms“upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and the like are usedherein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicatedotherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describevarious features/elements (including steps), these features/elementsshould not be limited by these terms, unless the context indicatesotherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature/elementfrom another feature/element. Thus, a first feature/element discussedbelow could be termed a second feature/element, and similarly, a secondfeature/element discussed below could be termed a first feature/elementwithout departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless thecontext requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as“comprises” and “comprising” means various components can be co-jointlyemployed in the methods and articles (e.g., compositions and apparatusesincluding device and methods). For example, the term “comprising” willbe understood to imply the inclusion of any stated elements or steps butnot the exclusion of any other elements or steps.

In general, any of the apparatuses and methods described herein shouldbe understood to be inclusive, but all or a sub-set of the componentsand/or steps may alternatively be exclusive, and may be expressed as“consisting of” or alternatively “consisting essentially of” the variouscomponents, steps, sub-components or sub-steps.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in theexamples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may beread as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if theterm does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately”may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate thatthe value and/or position described is within a reasonable expectedrange of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may havea value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1%of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (orrange of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10%of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical valuesgiven herein should also be understood to include about or approximatelythat value, unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, if thevalue “10” is disclosed, then “about 10” is also disclosed. Anynumerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-rangessubsumed therein. It is also understood that when a value is disclosedthat “less than or equal to” the value, “greater than or equal to thevalue” and possible ranges between values are also disclosed, asappropriately understood by the skilled artisan. For example, if thevalue “X” is disclosed the “less than or equal to X” as well as “greaterthan or equal to X” (e.g., where X is a numerical value) is alsodisclosed. It is also understood that the throughout the application,data is provided in a number of different formats, and that this data,represents endpoints and starting points, and ranges for any combinationof the data points. For example, if a particular data point “10” and aparticular data point “15” are disclosed, it is understood that greaterthan, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, andequal to 10 and 15 are considered disclosed as well as between 10 and15. It is also understood that each unit between two particular unitsare also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, then 11,12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.

Although various illustrative embodiments are described above, any of anumber of changes may be made to various embodiments without departingfrom the scope of the invention as described by the claims. For example,the order in which various described method steps are performed mayoften be changed in alternative embodiments, and in other alternativeembodiments one or more method steps may be skipped altogether. Optionalfeatures of various device and system embodiments may be included insome embodiments and not in others. Therefore, the foregoing descriptionis provided primarily for exemplary purposes and should not beinterpreted to limit the scope of the invention as it is set forth inthe claims.

The examples and illustrations included herein show, by way ofillustration and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which thesubject matter may be practiced. As mentioned, other embodiments may beutilized and derived there from, such that structural and logicalsubstitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof this disclosure. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter maybe referred to herein individually or collectively by the term“invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarilylimit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventiveconcept, if more than one is, in fact, disclosed. Thus, althoughspecific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a series of aligners,the method comprising: receiving, from a putative patient, patientinformation and a request for financing of a series of dental aligners;pre-approving the putative patient for a maximum financed amount andentering the patient information, a preapproval status, and the maximumfinanced amount into a database; transmitting an alert to a dentalaligner laboratory when the putative patient is pre-approved so that thedental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacture aligners for theputative patient; receiving a preapproval status inquiry from a dentalpractitioner on behalf of the putative patient, and transmitting thepreapproval status and maximum financed amount from the database to thedental practitioner; receiving a treatment cost from the dentalpractitioner for treating the putative patient and including it in thedatabase; transmitting, to the dental aligner laboratory, an alert whenthe treatment cost is received along with information identifying thedental practitioner; receiving, from the dental aligner laboratory, alaboratory cost; receiving, from the putative patient, acceptance of anactual financed amount and updating the database to indicate funding ofthe actual financed amount; transmitting an alert to the dental alignerlaboratory that the database has been updated to indicate funding of theactual financed amount so that the dental aligner laboratory maymanufacture the series of aligners; and paying, upon receivingnotification from the dental aligner laboratory that the series ofdental aligners has been sent, a first portion of the actual financedamount to the dental aligner laboratory and a second portion of theactual financed amount to the dental practitioner.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the patient information and request forfinancing, the treatment cost, the laboratory cost, and the acceptanceof the actual financed amount comprises receiving in a remote processor.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting to the putativepatient a user interface on the putative patient's handheld mobiledevice that is configured to receive the patient information and arequest for financing of a series of dental aligners, wherein the userinterface communicates with a remote processor.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein receiving the patient information comprises receiving one ormore of: a patient identifying code identifying the putative patient,the putative patient's name, the putative patient's address, theputative patient's age.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingadjusting the maximum financed amount at the request of the dentalaligner laboratory, wherein the dental aligner laboratory calculates atreatment risk specific to the putative patient based on one or more ofa scan of the putative patient's teeth and the patient information. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing master access to thedatabase for the dental aligner laboratory and client access to thedatabase for the dental practitioner, wherein the master access maycontrol the client access.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereintransmitting the alert to the dental aligner laboratory when theputative patient is pre-approved comprises transmitting the alert to thedental aligner laboratory so that dental aligner laboratory may prepareto manufacture aligners for the putative patient by preparing to receivedental information specific to the putative patient from the putativepatient and/or the putative patient's dental practitioner.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein transmitting the alert to the dental alignerlaboratory when the putative patient is pre-approved comprisestransmitting the alert to the dental aligner laboratory so that dentalaligner laboratory may prepare to manufacture aligners for the putativepatient by requesting dental information about the putative patient. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the requested dental informationcomprises one or more of: an image of the putative patient's teeth, adigital scan of the putative patient's teeth, and a copy of the putativepatient's dental record.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmittingthe alert to the dental aligner laboratory when the putative patient ispre-approved comprises transmitting the alert to the dental alignerlaboratory so that dental aligner laboratory may prepare to manufacturealigners for the putative patient by referring the putative patient to adental practitioner.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving thelaboratory cost comprises receiving laboratory costs based on theidentity of the dental practitioner and/or based on dental informationabout the putative patient.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing, in a user interface on the putative patient'smobile device, a choice of financing options before receiving acceptanceof the actual financed amount.
 13. A method of manufacturing a series ofaligners, the method comprising: receiving, from a putative patient, arequest for financing of a series of dental aligners in a remoteprocessor having a database to which a dental aligner laboratory hasmaster access and further to which a dental practitioner has clientaccess, wherein the request for financing includes patient informationspecific to the putative patient; pre-approving the putative patient fora maximum financed amount and entering the patient information, apreapproval status, and the maximum financed amount into the database;transmitting an alert to the dental aligner laboratory when the putativepatient is pre-approved so that dental aligner laboratory may prepare tomanufacture aligners for the putative patient; receiving a preapprovalstatus inquiry from the dental practitioner on behalf of the putativepatient, and transmitting the preapproval status and maximum financedamount from the database to the dental practitioner; receiving atreatment cost for treating the putative patient and including it in thedatabase; receiving a laboratory cost for treating the putative patient;receiving, from the putative patient, acceptance of an actual financedamount and updating the database to indicate funding of the actualfinanced amount; initiating manufacture of the series of dental alignersspecific to the putative patient by transmitting an alert to a dentalaligner laboratory that the actual financed amount has been funded;paying, following receipt of notification that the series of dentalaligners has been completed and sent, a first portion of the actualfinanced amount to the dental aligner laboratory and a second portion ofthe actual financed amount to the dental practitioner.
 14. A method ofmanufacturing a series of dental aligners, the method comprising:providing master access to a database of putative patient loaninformation to a dental aligner laboratory; receiving, by the dentalaligner laboratory, a notification from a remote financing server that aputative patient has requested or received pre-approval of a maximumfinanced amount for a dental aligner treatment and preparing tomanufacture the series of aligners for the putative patient uponreceiving the notification; receiving, by the dental aligner laboratory,an alert when the remote financing server receives a treatment cost froma dental practitioner for the putative patient; calculating a laboratorycost for manufacturing the series of aligners for the putative patientand transmitting the laboratory cost to the remote financing server;receiving an alert that the remote financial server has funded an actualfinanced amount for the putative patient and thereafter initiatingmanufacture of the series of dental aligners specific to the putativepatient; and transmitting instructions to the remote financial server topay the treatment cost to the dental practitioner and to pay thelaboratory cost to the dental aligner laboratory after the series ofdental aligners has been completed and sent.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein preparing to manufacture the series of aligners for the putativepatient comprises preparing to receive dental information specific tothe putative patient from the putative patient and/or the putativepatient's dental practitioner.
 16. The method of claim 14, whereinpreparing to manufacture the series of aligners for the putative patientcomprises requesting dental information about the putative patient. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein requesting the dental informationcomprises requesting one or more of: an image of the putative patient'steeth, a digital scan of the putative patient's teeth, and a copy of theputative patient's dental record.
 18. The method of claim 16, whereinrequesting comprises requesting from the dental practitioner that isassociated with the putative patient in the database of putative patientloan information.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein preparing tomanufacture the series of aligners for the putative patient comprisesreferring the putative patient to a dental practitioner.
 20. The methodof claim 14, wherein receiving, by the dental aligner laboratory, analert comprises receiving a request for laboratory cost.
 21. The methodof claim 14, wherein calculating the laboratory cost for manufacturingthe series of aligners for the putative patient is based a discountassociated with the dental practitioner and/or the putative patient'sdental information.
 22. The method of claim 14, further comprisingtransmitting, to the remote financing server from the dental alignerlaboratory, an adjusted maximum financed amount based a treatment riskfor the putative patient.
 23. The method of claim 14, further comprisingadjusting the maximum financed amount based on a treatment riskdetermined using patient dental information comprising one or more of:an image of the putative patient's teeth, a digital scan of the putativepatient's teeth.